‘Super’ reunion: James Gunn to join Rainn Wilson at Hero festival

Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page and James Gunn at the Los Angeles premiere of “Super” on March 21, 2011. (Chris Pizzello / Associated Press)

Our “Super” screening on May 19 just got even more, um, super.

James Gunn, the writer and director of the crime-busting, bone-cracking and (at times) heartbreaking film “Super,” will reunite with the 2010 indie project’s star, Rainn Wilson, on stage at the Hero Complex Film Festival. The pair will share the stage during a Q&A session following the 8:30 p.m. screening of “Super,” which dresses like “The Greatest American Hero” but runs off the road of sanity like a hipster version of “Taxi Driver.”

“Super” follows a short-order cook named Frank (Wilson) who is gripped by rage and despair after his wife (Liv Tyler) leaves him for a manipulative dope merchant (Kevin Bacon). At his most vulnerable moment, a cosmic message arrives and shoves Frank down a new path — he dons the mask of the Crimson Bolt and swings a wrench at evil.

Gunn made his directorial debut with the 2006 horror-comedy “Slither” (with Nathan Fillion, Michael Rooker, and Gregg Henry) and has wildly varied experience in spooky cinema with writing credits on the films “Scooby-Doo” (2002), “Dawn of the Dead” (2004) and “Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed” (2004).

“Super” was one of the gems of 2010 and, if you missed it, this is the perfect opportunity to circle back to its deranged charms. The movie absolutely earns its R rating and it’s part of our savage Saturday bill that begins at noon with a 25th anniversary presentation of a new digitally remastered print of “Robocop“ (with a post-screening Q&A with Peter Weller) and continues with a “A Clockwork Orange” screening (which follows the 4 p.m. Q&A with Malcolm McDowell, who will reflect on the 50th anniversary of the novel and the 40th anniversary of the Stanley Kubrick film).

The third edition of the Hero Complex Film Festival runs May 18-21 at the Regal Cinemas L.A. Live. Tickets are now on sale. For a full list of screenings and ticket information, visit the festival landing page.